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A number of years ago there was a gentleman at our church who encouraged Tom and me to go on a cruise. He and his wife had been on many such trips, and he loved to extol the virtues of taking a vacation like that. Thing is... we're not luxury liner/cruise ship kinds of people. Crowds and itineraries are not really our jam. We're more "canoe on the river" kinds of people.
Speaking of canoes, we recently had the opportunity to take our oldest grandson canoeing on the Guadalupe River. It was the perfect day for it; gentle breeze, a bit of cloud cover. The water was fairly placid so it was an easy paddle, even upstream. Last year around the same time we took him for a canoe trip to Lake Boerne. It was fun, and we had a great time, but man, navigating the choppy waters and headwinds of a lake was NOTHING like paddling with the current.
The right boat for the waters makes all the difference.
Can you imagine trying to navigate rapids in a pontoon, or crossing the open ocean in a dinghy?
I'm not saying it could never be done, but it would certainly take a toll... and there are easier ways to go.
It got me thinking a little bit about life and navigating as successfully as possible the waters we must travel. Imagine starting out on your journey, your whole life in front of you. You find yourself in a sales lot looking at ALL the possible options. The list is almost endless: paddle boat, yacht, cruise liner, schooner, fishing boat, speedboat, kayak, canoe.... So many choices, it's hard to pick. We could go with our gut and claim the first one that makes our heartbeat quicken. We could make our pick with thoughts of adventure and daring... or perhaps leisure is the way to go. We could choose for the destination we desire, or we could let the waters take us where they will. Whichever we choose, the boat must be equipped for the journey we undertake.
But what if we're not the ones charting the course? What if plans have been made for us before we ever get to the boats? How could we ever choose well when we don't know which waters face us?
When I first headed off to college I had a plan in mind. It was a good plan. It had goals and benchmarks and deadlines. I would allot so many years to get from point A to B and B to C. I would systematically move my way up the career ladder, and I would be successful in my chosen field.
I headed for that lot, picked out the sweetest little speeboat I could find and hit the waters flying. All worked well for about the first five years. Then one day God said, "It's time to switch boats. You will not be needing speed for the waters I have chosen for you. Here, instead, is a canoe and some paddles. The trip will not necessarily be easy. You will encounter rapids at times. There will be places where the water is so low you will have to get out of the boat and drag it along, perhaps for miles. But there will also be inexplicable beauty that will take the breath right out of you. You can trust me, for I will be in the boat with you."
God knew my life better than I did. Of course He did. He had set my course long before I ever came on the scene. I could have insisted on keeping the speedboat, but I could never have made it safely where He planned for me to go. That's the thing about choices... they're not always easy. We can insist on our own way. We can convince ourselves that this choice of ours lines up perfectly with God's will for our life. We can ignore that it might be Satan who's throwing his voice like any good ventriloquist can do, or we can be still and listen to make sure we hear the right voice... the only voice that matters... the voice of the One who loves us dearly and has a good and perfect plan for our lives.
The right boat for the waters makes all the difference, and when we relinquish control to the One who has charted the course for us, the One who has picked the boat, the One who helps us steer...
we always arrive safely.
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